Jon Meacham Popular Books
Jon Meacham Biography & Facts
Jon Ellis Meacham (; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. A former executive editor and executive vice president at Random House, he is a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, a contributing editor to Time magazine, and a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek. He is the author of several books. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. He holds the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Endowed Chair in American Presidency at Vanderbilt University. Early life and education Meacham was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His parents are Jere Ellis Meacham (1946–2008), a construction and labor-relations executive who was decorated for valor during the Vietnam War, and Linda (McBrayer) Brodie. His paternal grandparents, Ellis K. Meacham and Jean Austin Meacham, raised him after his parents' divorce. When he was a child, his grandfather had discussions each morning with a group of men about local and national politics. As a result, Meacham developed an interest in politics. He received an invitation to Ronald Reagan's 1981 inauguration in Washington, D.C., in response to a letter that he sent to the president-elect.Meacham attended The McCallie School, where he developed an interest in the civil rights movement. He then went on to attend Sewanee: The University of the South where he graduated salutatorian and summa cum laude in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Career Journalist and editor After college, he worked at The Chattanooga Times, until he moved to Washington, D.C., in 1993 and became co-editor of Washington Monthly. In 1995, he worked for Newsweek as the national affairs editor, and became managing editor in late-1998. In 2006, he became editor-in-chief of Newsweek's print and online formats.A former executive editor and executive vice president at Random House, he is a contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review and The Washington Post, and a contributing editor to Time magazine. Biographer and book author He was the editor for Voices in Our Blood: America's Best on the Civil Rights Movement which was released in 2001. Spanning the period from 1941 to 1998, the book includes writings of noted civil-rights leaders, novelists, and journalists, like John Lewis, James Baldwin, William Faulkner, and David Halberstam. His book, Franklin and Winston, Partners of an Intimate Relationship about Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, was released in 2003.Meacham has explored America's leaders in such works as Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power as well as his biography of Andrew Jackson, American Lion, which won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Jill Abramson writing in a book review in The New York Times states that Meacham's books are "well researched, drawing on new anecdotal material and up-to-date historiographical interpretations" and presents his "subjects as figures of heroic grandeur despite all-too-human shortcomings". In his biography of Jefferson, Meacham identifies qualities that would be helpful in the current political arena, "Jefferson repeatedly reached out to his enemies and showed ideological flexibility." Regarding the former president's stance on slavery, Meacham states, "Slavery was the rare subject where Jefferson's sense of realism kept him from marshaling his sense of hope in the service of the cause of reform."Selected by the Bush family to be the official biographer for George H. W. Bush, Meacham's book, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, was published in 2015. He gave eulogies for both President Bush and Barbara Bush when they died in 2018. Other appearances Over the years Meacham has been a frequent guest on various talk shows such as Charlie Rose, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Real Time with Bill Maher. From May 2010 to April 2011, Meacham was co-host with Alison Stewart of Need to Know on PBS. He is also a frequent guest on CBS This Morning, Face the Nation, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.In 2014 Meacham appeared in Ken Burns' documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History on PBS. He also appeared in a cameo in the 2018 film The Front Runner. Meacham taught history at his alma mater, the University of the South, in 2014. He was a visiting professor of political science at Vanderbilt University before being appointed to the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency. Meacham is also the co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy at Vanderbilt University. Meacham was asked to speak at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on the Soul of America. He endorsed Joe Biden, saying, "history, which will surely be our judge, can also be our guide. From Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall, we're at our best when we build bridges, not walls". According to The New York Times, Meacham was part of the team writing some of Joe Biden's speeches for the 2020 United States presidential election, including Biden's acceptance speech, and his 2024 State of the Union address.In November 2022, Meacham helped Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, write a speech announcing that she would not seek reelection to House Democratic leadership in the 118th United States Congress. Awards and honors 2009: Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House. 2013: Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Prize from the Anti-Defamation League 2013: Founder's Award from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania 2016: The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute's Spirit of Democracy Award. 2022: The Lincoln Forum's Richard Nelson Current Award of Achievement Named a "Global Leader for Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum A fellow of the Society of American Historians Member of the Council on Foreign Relations A trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and the Andrew Jackson Foundation Chairs the national advisory board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Distinguished visiting professor of history at The University of the South A visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt UniversityMeacham has also been awarded honorary doctorates from several universities: 2005: Doctor of Humane Letters, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University 2010: Dickinson College 2010: The University of the South D.Litt. 2012: Loyola University New Orleans DHL 2017: Wake Forest University, 2017: Middlebury College D.Litt. 2017: The University of Tennessee DHL 2018: The University of Massachusetts Lowell 2019: Millsaps CollegePersonal life As of 2014, Meacham resides in Belle Meade, Tennessee. He married Margaret Keith Smythe.... Discover the Jon Meacham popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jon Meacham books.
Best Seller Jon Meacham Books of 2024
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The American Story
David M. RubensteinCofounder of The Carlyle Group and patriotic philanthropist David M. Rubenstein takes readers on a sweeping journey across the grand arc of the American story through revealing con...
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Songs of America
Jon Meacham & Tim McGrawNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A celebration of American history through the music that helped to shape a nation, by Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham and music superstar Tim McGraw“Jo...
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What Were We Thinking
Carlos LozadaIn this “crisp, engaging, and very smart” (The New York Times Book Review) work, The Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize–winning book critic digs into books of the Trump era and finds...
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The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library
The Daily Show With Trevor NoahNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As seen on The Daily Show: an illustrated portrait of the Donald J. Trump Twitter account, with analysis and “scholarly” commentary f...
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The Fever of 1721
Stephen CossThe “intelligent and sweeping” (Booklist) story of the crucial year that prefigured the events of the American Revolution in 1776and how Boston’s smallpox epidemic was at the cente...
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The Highest Calling
David M. RubensteinFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The American Story and How to Lead and host of PBS’s History with David RubensteinDavid Rubenstein interviews living American presiden...
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Courage Is Contagious
Nick Haramis & Joana AvillezA collection of essays celebrating the influential former first lady, by an array of acclaimed contributors and with a foreword by Lena Dunham. Michelle Obama’s legacy transce...
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Beyond Bin Laden
Jon Meacham, James A. Baker III & Karen HughesOsama bin Laden was the most wanted man in American historyan enemy who brought the United States what President George W. Bush called “a day of fire,” and ushered in a new era of ...
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The American Experiment
David M. RubensteinTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLERThe capstone book in a trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of How to Lead and The American Story and hos...
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American Lion
Jon MeachamThe definitive biography of a largerthanlife president who defied norms, divided a nation, and changed Washington foreverAndrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and his tum...
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All the Powers of Earth
Sidney BlumenthalLincoln’s incredible ascent to power in a world of chaos is newly revealed in this “compelling, original, and elegantly written” (Michael Beschloss, New York Times bestselling auth...
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American Gospel
Jon MeachamNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Pulitzer Prizewinning author Jon Meacham reveals how the Founding Fathers viewed faithand how they ultimately created a nation in which belief ...
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Destiny and Power
Jon Meacham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this “illuminating” (USA Today) biography, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham chronicles the life of George Herbert Walker Bush.“Destin...
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Franklin and Winston
Jon MeachamNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this “beautifully written and superbly researched dual biography” (Los Angeles Times Book Review), Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Mea...
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In the Hands of the People
Jon Meacham & Annette Gordon-ReedPulitzer Prize–winning historian Jon Meacham offers a collection of inspiring words about how to be a good citizen, from Thomas Jefferson and others, and reminds us why our country...
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The Soul of America Summary
The Summary GuyThe Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels A Complete Summary The Soul of America is a book written by Jon Meacham. The book is about one of the most significant eve...
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Abundance
Ezra KleinFrom bestselling authors and journalistic titans, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance is a onceinageneration, paradigmshifting call to rethink big, entrenched problems that se...
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In Defense of Andrew Jackson
Bradley J. Birzer"He was a man of the frontier, selfmade but appreciative of those who gave him their loyalty and support. He was, pure and simple, and American..." He was controversial in his time...
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This Country
Chris MatthewsA “quintessentially American” (Policy Magazine) memoir of politics and history from Chris Matthews, New York Times bestselling author and longtime host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chr...
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Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Herbert LevyA fascinating exploration of early to midtwentiethcentury politics as seen through the eyes of a Roosevelt technocrat.History seems to repeat itself. With ongoing wars abroad and t...
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And There Was Light
Jon MeachamNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Jon Meacham chronicles the life of Abraham Lincoln, charting howand whyhe confronted secession, threats to democra...
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His Truth Is Marching On
Jon Meacham & John Lewis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An intimate and revealing portrait of civil rights icon and longtime U.S. congressman John Lewis, linking his life to the painful quest for justice in...
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The First Populist
David S. BrownA timely, “solidly researched [and] gracefully written” (The Wall Street Journal) biography of President Andrew Jackson that offers a fresh reexamination of this charismatic figure...
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Voices in Our Blood
Jon Meacham, Maya Angelou, Ralph Ellison, Alice Walker & James BaldwinAn unprecedented portrait of the civil rights movement and the fight against white supremacy, told through voices that resonate with passion and strengthincluding Ma...
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Smithsonian Civil War
Smithsonian Institution, Neil Kagan, Michelle Delaney & Hugh TalmanSmithsonian Civil War is a lavishly illustrated coffeetable book featuring 150 entries in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. From among tens of thousands of C...
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Impeachment
Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, Peter Baker & Jeffrey A. EngelFour experts on the American presidency examine the first three times impeachment has been invokedagainst Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clintonand explain what it means t...
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The Call to Serve
Jon MeachamIn honor of the one hundredth anniversary of George H. W. Bush’s birth, this visually stunning chronicle features neverbeforepublished photos and memories celebrating the fortyfirs...
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A Sense of Balance
John HowardOn how our sense of balance has defined us as a nation and will safeguard our future.In the years that John Howard served in the national parliament he came to understand the speci...
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The Hope of Glory
Jon MeachamNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham explores the seven last sayings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, combining rich historical and theological ...
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Wrestling With His Angel
Sidney BlumenthalThe “magisterial” (The New York Times Book Review) second volume of Sidney Blumenthal’s acclaimed, landmark biography, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln, reveals the future pre...
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The Soul of America
Jon Meacham#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in ou...
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Barack Obama
David MaranissThe groundbreaking multigenerational biography, a richly textured account of President Obama and the forces that shaped him and sustain him, from Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter, p...